WASHINGTON -- The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has announced that it is seeking public comment on significant revisions to Management Directive 110 (MD-110), which provides federal agencies with EEO policies, procedures and
guidance related to the newly revised 29 C.F.R. Part 1614 (federal sector EEO regulations). The full text of the proposed revisions is available on the Regulation.gov website at http://www.regulations.gov/#!docketDetail;D=EEOC-2014-0001.

These revisions represent the first major changes to MD-110 since 1999; they can be categorized into three areas:

Implementation of Revised Regulations:

new procedures for agencies to submit, and the EEOC to approve, requests to conduct pilot projects for processing complaints in ways other than those prescribed in Part 1614;

revised procedure making an administrative judge's decision on the merits of a class complaint a final decision;

a new compliance section;

updated retaliation language in the dismissal section;

notice to complainant when an agency is untimely in completing an investigation; and

revisions to the remainder of MD-110 to reflect current policies, procedures, laws and case precedents.

These revisions are a part of the EEOC's ongoing efforts to improve the federal sector process. The agency encourages interested parties to review these proposed changes and provide feedback for EEOC consideration. The agency specifically urges
stakeholders to provide feedback on the conflict-of-interest section, as this is the EEOC's first attempt to provide clarity in this area, and stakeholder input will be valuable in determining the final approach.